The Three Amigos chose to have a blast from the past and pull out The Sword and the Flame along with 20mm/HO scale soft plastic figures for a Boxer Rebellion game. The Coalition relief force of two British, two German, two French and two Russian infantry units, along with cavalry from England and Russia and two modern guns were to drive up the road to the relief of the besieged forces in Peking. The Allies could enter anywhere along their long table edge and the Chinese all started concealed on a sketch map.
For those unfamiliar with TSatF, it is card-driven for movement and combat results, d6s for variable movement and gunnery. So all units will eventually move and shoot but you cannot predict how far with certainty.
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| British infantry and guns plus Germans arrive. All Boxers are hidden. |
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| French and Russians with all the cavalry on the other end. |
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| A battery of Chinese regulars unmask and opens fire. |
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| Ends up fairly effective fire. Some figures are molded prone. |
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Despite a bunch of stragglers the cavalry eliminates the gunners
as hidden Boxers turn to face a new threat on their flank. |
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The Germans take out the Boxers and prepare to move as more
appear, as if from the ground. |
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| From the woods storm three units of ill-equipped but fanatical Boxers. |
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British move forward to provoke the Chinese into closing as
artillery on the hill behind them fires overhead. |
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| The French and Russians press onward after masking the woods. |
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| The Chinese move forward, losing men to artillery and rifle fire. |
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| The last British reserves are committed and the Chinese begin to rout. |
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| Victorious but decimated, the Boxers pull away on the far right. |
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| The battle reaches it's climax in the center. |
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| Loses for both sides but the Coalition is successful |
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| The victory becomes complete on the left as well. |
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| The well-served artillery contributed mightily to the victory. |
It must have been 25 years since I last played this system. It has some goofy, Hollywood ways of resolving some things but is still a fun time. Bob has a large collection so we may see more games, especially if the long-delayed new edition comes out.
Thanks for reading and
